Samuel Ramey is Assur

"Deh! ti ferma ... Que' numi furenti" from Semiramide (G. Rossini)
Live recording
December 1990
Metropolitan Opera House

[@kbhprinsesse]

Apart from Ramey's world class singing, the nice thing about this clip is to see a PROPER production with beautiful costumes that respect the time and place of the libretto, NOT men in modern-day suits and ties running about in a back yard filled with rubbish containers or whatever. I HATE the way modern-day stage directors and designers are allowed to rape beautiful operatic masterpieces!

[@Agorante]

Ramey was a modern bass in the same way that Callas was a modern Coloratura. They not only sang well they sang older music in a way that hadn't been heard for a long time. Before Callas the great dramatic coloratura roles had been consigned to 'bird sopranos'. Women with high thin voices. Similarly before Ramey bass music was often sung by men with just big, clumsy, dark voices who skipped the fioratura. I remember listening to Tancredo Pasero singing this scene. I didn't recognize it. He had simplified it so much that it was unrecognizable. Other times I would hear Ramey sing a piece with which I was very familiar only to exclaim - "So. that's how it's supposed to sound!" After Ramey basses couldn't get away with smudging the runs and cutting out the 'little notes'.

[@kbhprinsesse]

"Before Callas the great dramatic coloratura roles had been consigned to 'bird sopranos'." That isn't completely correct. Pre-Callas, coloratura soprano roles had been split between "bird sopranos" and dramatic sopranos who would huff and puff, simplify or skip the fioritura. Pre-Callas Norma wasn't sung by bird sopranos but by heavy sopranos such as Ester Mazzoleni, Gina Cigna and Zinka Milanov, to name just one role. But it is true that other roles, for instance Amina, was usually sung by "the birds".

[@tamolyn5141]

I've had much the same experience; hearing a bass (whose name escapes me now) singing Mustafa in L'Italiana in Algeri, and then hearing Ramey sing the same role...and commenting that I'd finally heard the role sung the way it's supposed to sound. Ramey is the standard now for the Rossini coloratura bass roles.

[@hector-fe4ox]

Non avere rivali. Meraviglioso Ramey. Bravisimo.

[@Rosangela161]

Fascinating!! Thank you for sharing this adorable selection. Congratulations. Love it.

[@marinellamazzanti4291]

Meraviglioso sia vocalmente che come interprete. Straordinario

[@1947Rollo]

Semplicemente il più grande basso "rossiniano" di cui esistono documenti sonori.

[@hendrikdejong4580]

What a voice, I never get enough of Samuel.

[@luismendez853]

Underrated? Are you high? Ramey is one of the most famous and successful opera singers of all time. If you mean he is not mainstream like Pavarotti or Domingo because of their crossover performances well.... but Ramey is an Opera God. NEVER UNDERRATED. His technique is flawless.

[@arthurparada3251]

Crossover is treason

[@MrOperagoer]

Pavarotti is personality

[@Fitz65]

Brilliant. One of the very few basses of his time that had the solid bottom tones to match his great top notes. Thanks for the video!

[@manlioerta7221]

Voce grandiosa e interpretazione inimitabile. Sia cantando " Deh ! ti ferma.... Que' numi furenti " dalla Semiramide di Rossini, sia cantando " Mentre gonfiarsi l'anima" dall'Attila di Verdi , sia cantando "Ella giammai m'amò" dal Don Carlos " di Verdi , Samuel Ramey raggiunge vertici di arte drammatica e musicale altissimi. Un vero gigante della lirica e della drammaturgia scenica. Con Orazio potrebbe dire:" Exegi monumentum aere perennius ". Spettacoli di grande pathos .Grazie a Manuel Albacete.

[@paoladatodi8626]

ha compiuto 80 anni il 28 marzo, auguri! Ed è ancora in attività! Simpatico che si sia dedicato a ruoli "di fianco" (ma mica tanto...) anche in opere che lo videro protagonista

[@manlioerta7221]

Grazie per la precisazione. Samuel Ramey è grande in tutti i ruoli, sia in quelli principali, sia in quelli secondari: Leporello, nel Don Giovanni ( dopo Don Giovanni indimenticabile), o in Don Basilio. Grande sempre: ma io sono incantato dalla Serenata nel Faust di Gounod . e nella morte di Don Chisciotte in Massenet. Buona domenica.

[@cimbassovr]

Grande interpretazione!!! Grazie della condivisione!!!

[@stefanoolcese]

I'd like to have a private conversation with the 6 people who clicked "I don't like" on this video.......

[@voltape]

me too

[@airmackeeee6792]

bassoitaliano up to 8 now. Skip the conversation, just bring a hammer! 😉😈😠🔨🔨💥🔨💥🔨💥😵😵

[@michaelnenninger6735]

...these 8 are in urgent need of a good ear specialist, being of quite more help ;-)

[@helenebiard1852]

I'll join you whit a great pleasure. It's impossible to dislike Master Ramey

[@kbhprinsesse]

Because if people don't share your taste, violence is the answer? Wow...

[@bartvanderkerken3647]

What a presence! He IS Assur indeed

[@barytonal]

Great ,great,great singer and artist👍👏👏👏👏!!!!!!!!!

[@testdriveguy]

I saw this production with this cast. Extraordinary!

[@rosy3385]

Ce qu'il est beau notre Samuel Ramey !!!

[@johndavies5879]

The greatest bass baritone of all time and as he grew into parts like this in Semiramide he became even more outstanding. Bravo Samuel Ramey. You will stand the test of time with your recordings.

[@shanederry2691]

He's an operatic bass not any type of baritone. He has a large range.

[@elhamrif.e44]

One word .... divine!

[@rosy3385]

Le plus bel ASSUR assurément !

[@Dogaradodia]

Certifié intergalactique! Samuel Ramey est le meilleur Assur!

[@gaddovarzi6980]

...ma che vuoi commentare... Di tutte le doti che può avere un interprete operistico, qui Ramey dà prova al sommo grado - dal timbro all'estensione, dallo stile alla recitazione, dall'agilità al gesto. Tutti 10 e lode in pagella. Interprete impareggiabile.

[@elianedelhaes1605]

merveilleux - très bel homme , superbe voix

[@rosy3385]

Et quelle mise en scène fabuleuse à côté de ce que l'on nous montre aujourd'hui !!!

[@paolabartolini36]

Samuel Ramey grande e Rossini stupendo, meraviglioso ed unico… 🌺💝😘☺️👏

[@danielefascendini565]

Assurdoooo 🔥

[@andremad75]

A true God, the bass that Maestro Rossini deserves ❤

[@christophecesar4761]

Samuel Ramey is unique because when you discover a operatic role with him, you can't entirely appreciate another singer: he is less good... Even some underrated roles like Oroveso or Raimondo of Lucia. Some other singer have this talent for some roles (Callas in Norma, Sutherland in Lucia, Scotto in some Puccini, Bergonzi in some Verdi's roles for instance) but with Sam Ramey, it's for all his roles. Once, decades ago, I heard on stage his Gounod's Mephisto. Since, I can't hear nobody else withour being frustrated. In Assur it's worst (like Lord Sydney, for exemple): I simply can barely hear someone else singing it. Unique!

[@wilsonwatt9283]

I absolutely agree. I was fortunate enough to hear him in a dozen different operas including both the Gounod and Boito reditions of the Faust story, the 4 villains in Tales of Hoffmann, Attila and Don Carlo, and two Handel operas. He was stunning, and stylistically proper, in every one of them. He is the standard for any role he sang.

[@niklasschmitz9112]

Totally agree, Ramey is one of a kind. As for Gounod's Mephisto there is also a new great basso, in a production in Riga right now. Andreas Bauer, very powerful yet agile voice. But quite different to Ramey. His veau d'or: kzbin.info/www/bejne/jorUl32Fqr98o5I#t=32m35s

[@kbhprinsesse]

Scotto?? Ha ha ha...

[@WilsonWatt-q2e]

I was fortunate enough to have heard Ramey in several of his great roles including this at either the Met or the Chicago Lyric. His impact when seen live was tremendous as one could completely engage with the character when he performed, and his mastering of singing technique was so perfect that one felt embraced and afloat on a river of pure sound.

[@felixdelvallevigon6157]

¡qué voz tenia este hombre! ¡y cómo interpretaba a la par que cantaba! ya no hay como él...

[@angelodibucchianico3084]

Credo che pochi....potranno assurgere a tale interpretazione! Così fu per Attila alla Scala con il maestro Muti.

[@marcoc6329]

Grande ramey... amato e adorato ...presenza scenica impareggiabile grandissimo basso dotato di splendido e potente timbro..figlio della grande scuola della rossini renaissance

[@BaroneVitellioScarpia1]

He is the best Assur ever.

[@tww2002]

WONDERFUL.

[@PeterBarber]

The longer I train and the more I improve, the more I'm amazed by this performance

[@rosy3385]

J'ai toujours aimé Samuel Ramey mais l'ai découvert dans cet opéra récemment et c'est une splendeur !

[@germanquintero10121946]

EXQUISITO

[@magicmonkichi]

amazing voice and perofrmance, and he looks amazing~ yumm ^_^

[@raigekimaru]

apparently he's like the 1st person we've had in 200 years who could sing this.

[@mordred1971]

che grande cantante.......meraviglioso.......

[@raigekimaru]

this man is SO underrated. lower voices don't get enough of the spot light. his technique is like a male equivalent to La Stupenda. why are singers Jose Carreras and Placido Domingo in the spotlight when we still have this man? I don't mean to belittle them, but Sam Ramey has so much better technique than they do. every role he sings sounds flawless and creates the character perfectly.

[@aa.9280]

"Underrated"??????? He is the ONE and ONLY bass of all times!!! Period!

[@Mariosergio61]

Provavelmente a melhor gravação desta ópera (também com as extraordinárias June Anderson e Marilyn Horne).

[@christineturner2761]

Wonder why he never got a good send off from the Met. I don't know if he's officially retired, but the Met should have given him something for being the most popular bass in the world.

[@arthurparada3251]

mixed race like me

[@tamolyn5141]

@@arthurparada3251 Huh??? Please explain.

[@paoladatodi8626]

and for his 80th birthday? 03/28 u.s.!

[@aneamarlivana172]

I think perhaps it's because he's such a private person and didn't want a big fuss.

[@nicolimperi9758]

Bravissimo

[@melomane57]

Grande Samuel................

[@jordipanadesribera6890]

CHAPEAU.

[@Arashi110]

True, one is generally born with a "Rossinian" flexible voice. That's a quality a singer either has or has not. But still you can't go away without having the solid technique to lean upon when singing bel canto.

[@tehen162]

Bravo, bravo, bravo. He always amazes me singing Rossini roles. What fantastic technique he has: the legato, perfect, smooth coloraturas paired with his solid, beautiful bass voice, no one like him in this repertoire.

[@fabioarnesano5892]

Commovente!

[@raigekimaru]

ending on an exposed high F#? damn, that's brutal for a bass

[@rnerse]

it's a F natural

[@joseandrade-santos7521]

🎶OPERAMUSIC! 🎶 🎻🥁🎷🪘 🪗🎺🎸🎹🪕❤️Operasingerbass*musicologist*philosopher*writer*polyglot=7 spoken-english*português*français*italiano*español*deutsch*swenska*3 sung=ancient latin*ancient Ελληνικά*sanskrit σανσκριτική

[@jocelynen2572]

¡Fabuloso! ¡Maravilloso! Me encantan su técnica y su interpretación

[@Arashi110]

THE Assur. In this opera I always sympathized with Arsace (no wonder) but after seeing this Assur I think I should seriously think about my heart's affections. ;)

[@barytonal]

FABULEUX!!!!!

[@ronaldvanderwalt6751]

Bravooooooooooooooo......I really like this man. *Inspired*

[@paoladatodi8626]

80 anni! happy birthday anche se un po' in ritardo, li ha compiuti il 28 marzo.

[@PeterBarber]

The greatest

[@marioamadio4589]

Inarrivabile

[@simonetom]

5:30

[@verdiguy]

Sensational! Power and flexibility in perfect harmony! Tremendous charcaterization as well. Just what you would come to expect from Ramey. I can still remember hearing his debut in Rinaldo...amazing!! Where will we find another primo basso to take his place? Thanks for posting!!

[@Dogaradodia]

The voice that will reverberate for many, many years to come.

[@suzanapetrache3320]

Beautiful!!! I love you, Sam Ramey! 🌸❤

[@Agorante]

I disagree. Many posters here ascribe Ramey's amazing flexibility to technique. I don't think so. Singers typically improve in range, power and color as they mature but not in flexibility. The ability to rapidly articulate the vocal apparatus especially the diaphragm seems to be present or not present early and remains fixed. Rockwell Blake too has this kind of unlearnable ability. I suspect it's a genetically determined trait - specifically the size of the hypoglossal canal.

[@davidsanchez4056]

Maravilloso.

[@Baelmyrrdn]

I agree...we will not see his like again in our lifetime...

[@cmorgan22]

I heard him in this at the MET and itis the best I have ever heard him. And, I think, no good replacement on the horizon!

[@Caruso_is_king]

I heard him in this too! Amazing!!!

[@nickbaritone]

What a fantastic aria and cabaletta. The aria is really quite beautiful. He does it great. I think Rossini brought out the best in Ramey while he was in his prime. Great top F in the cabaletta.

[@aronpark3366]

oh my god... god..god..god

[@giulianataramella1192]

Meraviglioso! Insuperato ed insuperabile!

[@adamskyb]

@bassfanne45 Yea I know, that's why I was saying as a "high" bass with that low of a range you would think that any bass baritone could get that low, especially a normal bass but apparantly they all cant or dont...

[@MrTojar]

Bravo... Grande... The Next Ramey... Francis Tojar... Search it!!!

[@fabiopa9668]

mai!!!!

[@giulianataramella1192]

Inarrivabile, insuperabile!

[@Dogaradodia]

Certified Intergalactic!

[@Ernecio06]

Me gusta su voz! Espero algun dia cantar asi de bueno o mejor!!

[@guimaul69]

Are you singer? if you were, you couldn't say that! ok, some people are better helped as other with their voice at the beginning but the most important thing is just the work!! I don't know how much hours he's worked to obtain this result but i'm sure it's a lot... so please just show some respect for the technical job he's done, thank you

[@marcoc6329]

..non a caso si diceva rossini renaissance.. anche Ramey è stato un protagonista

[@birgitnilsson]

Es un DIOS!

[@adamskyb]

@AkhmedSync I understand...I mean, I think they sound low I guess they have more high overtones in them maybe that's it. You would think that since technically he is a "higher Bass" that most high basses could achieve those low notes.

[@raigekimaru]

@bassfanne45 actually, I heard it was closer to 3. B1-Ab4 or something like that. I could be wrong tho, I've also heard of him going higher

[@Caruso_is_king]

I was fortunate enough to hear him in this production. He was truly stupendous.

[@adamskyb]

for some reason his low notes dont sound that low. even though they are

[@helenebiard1852]

Inégalable Samuel Ramey. Personne ne lui arrivera jamais à la cheville tant il transformait en or tout ce qu'il chantait

[@raigekimaru]

omg are you serious!? where do you go to school?

[@mrc1961]

i have seen him many time in pesaro and other places in italy, He is just great, None like him. He did extremely well in verdi too. Great Attila and Filippo II I agree none on the horizon...it is sad ciao marco

[@2javivi1]

¿Sabéis si Samuel Ramey empezó siendo tenor o nació ya bajo?

[@aneamarlivana172]

As far as I know he was always a bass.

[@iavorpatril]

Grande interpretazione.

[@Bastikalk]

He was also better sometimes... didn't seem to have his best day. But still great!

[@raigekimaru]

I just realized he's wearing earrings, what a bad ass =P

[@bodiloto]

baritono .

[@rnerse]

un baritono che va fino al re grave dal vivo? sei un sordo. qui arriva mib grave senza problemi

[@bodiloto]

@@rnerse piccolino mi diverto con te . Grazie ! ma tu piccolino devi capire che non e' determinante l'estensione della voce ma il suo colore . per non perdere il mio tempo prezioso /mi rimane poco a vivere sono troppo vecchio/ un esempio solo : l'anno scorso avevo lavorato la tecnica e l'impostazione con un baritono professionista chi quando li riscaldavo la voce mi cantava dal do naturale grave /quello dei bassi profondi/ al la naturale acuto ... il fatto che questo bravo ragazzo cantava dei do naturali gravi non significa che era basso vero . lo stesso ragazzo aveva una voce di colore più scuro di Ramey e più bello tipo alla Bastianini , il suo problema era che la bellezza divina della sua voce rimaneva tutta in fondo della sua gola . abbiamo lavorato durante due settimane ... dopo questo lo stesso ragazzo aveva un cannone in fondo della sua gola e una voce molto più grande e bella di Ramey . mi immagino il duetto tra Attila /Ramey/ e Ezio / K.G./ il pubblico morirà da ridere visto che il baritono ha una voce di colore più scuro dal basso proprio come se mi ricordo bene era la differenza tra Cristoff /basso/ e Bastianini /baritono/... ti sto spiegando tutto questo proprio se dovevo spiegarlo a un ragazzino chi ha 6 anni . spero che capisci adesso ?... il vecchio segue una registrazione e' una dolce illusione ...

[@tamolyn5141]

@@rnerse bodiloto has made it his life's work to go to every Ramey video there is and tear Mr. Ramey to shreds. I imagine it's some kind of jealousy issue and that bodiloto could never measure up to the grand Ramey. It could also be a personal issue, an imagined insult or who knows.